Europe Day 3 Praha

Did you know that in Prague locals actually call it Praha?  Day 3 started with a delicious breakfast again!  We loved it again!  They eat a lot of bread, cheese and meat here.  Yum!

At 0800 we boarded a bus and drove 2 1/2 hours to Cesky Krumluv.  It was a beautiful drive, which reminded me of the greenery and rolling hills of Kentucky.  Our purple eyeshadow guide guided us through this very small, beautiful town, where a river winds through the middle of it.  We took a lot of pictures, especially of the castle, which was fun to tour around and to see it from all angles.  There are 3 bears that guard the castle, however we only got a quick glance of one of them.  

We had lunch in a tavern which use to be a jail.  They lit a candle for us so that we could have light while eating our lunch of pork chops (dad had trout), potatoes, potato cake, mushroom soup and a crepe for dessert.

We did some shopping for meteorite stones, other wise known as moldavite which is a stone that you can pretty much only get in Cesky.  They are an olive greenish stone, which is predicted to not be around in the next 10 years.  I wasn't going to buy one, but at the last minute I found a beautiful ring which I talked the lady down from $100 to $50.  I've become quite the bargainer, because I also bought an awesome garnet ring tonight which was originally $110 and I got if for $70.

Did I mention how gorgeous this town is?

Jenny and I shared (I think I ate most of it) a most delicious soft serve ice cream cone with the best chocolate and vanilla I've ever had.

On our ride back we were super tired and all took a bit of a rest before going out in Prague for a few more pictures, delicious thin crust pizza, garnet shopping and these awesome cinnamon cylinder thing called a Trdelnik (5 of us split 1; we do a lot of sharing of calories here).

By the end of the day our feet are super tired and so are our eyes.  The cobblestone streets are really hard on your feet, even with good shoes.

Funnies for the day:
*I paid 6 crowns to use the water closet.  I decided I'd take full advantage of it, until of course the light went off, which I figured meant my time was up.
*When out to dinner you have to ask for tap water around here and sometimes they don't even serve it.  However when I asked for tap water tonight at dinner the waitress wrinkled her nose, rolled her eyes and said of course.

Fun Facts:
*The Jewish center of town is closed from Sun Up to Sun Down Friday night to Saturday night.  We went down there tonight and every thing was closed and the roads were very quiet.
*When a statue of a horseman has only 2 feet on the ground it means he was assassinated, 1 foot up means he died in battle and all four on the ground means he died in bed; likely from an illness or injury.

Europe Day 2 Prague

This morning in Prague or Praha as the natives call it we enjoyed the most amazing gourmet breakfast buffet I have ever experienced.  My traditional European breakfast included the most tasteful cheeses, the fruit was top notch, the prosciutto was define, the nutella on top of my chocolate croissant topped also with a little cinnamon and sugar was out of this world.  The sour cherry juice was a great way to wash it all down.  Do you get what I'm saying, by far the best breakfast ever, except of course when my dad cooks breakfast...We really can't wait to wake up to it again tomorrow!

First off we met our tour guide with purple eye shadow and a lovely European accent.  30 of us boarded a bus where we had us a little tour of the city.  It took us to the Presidential Palace and St. Vitas Cathedral; by far the most beautiful cathedral  I've ever seen in my entire life.  Our tour guide showed us all of the best photo ops including one that overlooked the entire city.

I thought it was cool when I saw a door that was just my size on our way back to the bus, which took us to the Jewish Quarter where we saw a Jewish Synagogue and 12 story cemetery.  We then walked to old town square, where we saw the Oldest Working Astronomical Clock; on the hour the 12 apostles do a dance on the top and a skeleton rings the bell.

From here Jenny and I separated from the others because they toured Terrizen, while we went garnet shopping, enjoyed a cream puff like dessert on a roof top terrace overlooking the city, had beef goulash in a bread bowel and cabbage soup.  We also quite enjoyed a free concert in St. Nicholas Cathedral put on my a college choir from non other than Valley City North Dakota.  The acoustics and their voices were incredible.  Who would have thought a choir from ND could sound so amazing.

Funnies of the day...
*There are a lot odd Museums which we passed by including the torture museum and the sex machine museum.
*We entered a restaurant to have dinner but was told it was full even though there were empty tables.  Apparently we were under-dressed or too American looking.  We had a good laugh though.
*Peter our other tour guide asked me if I had an obsession with doors, because he noticed I took a lot of pictures of them.  I told him about the doors in Savannah, GA.
*We ordered a meal, but didn't have cash and they didn't accept credit cards, so we had no other choice but to get up and leave; and we actually told them to cancel our order before they brought it to us.
*You have to pay to use the water closet or enter the code on the bottom of your receipt.
* They don't bring you water when you eat, if you want water you have to pay $4 for it, so you might as well buy something with calories.
*Tenielle found this funny statue; they are all around the city.

Europe Day 1

Our trip started out crazy, while on the way to the airport I got a call saying our flight was going to be delayed and we would miss our connecting flight from Detroit to Amsterdam.  So first things first we got reassigned on a different/earlier flight which actually took off 10 minutes later.  Thankfully we all got on just fine from SLC to Detroit.  We had a short lay over in Detroit before boarding a huge jet where we were all able to sit together.  We watched movies, listened to music, they fed us well, we got up several times to stretch, had maybe an hours rest and 7 1/2 hours later we got off in Amsterdam, where we again rushed through customs and barely got on our connecting flight. Thankfully we haven't had to sit in airports.

Today in Prague we were super tired, we all had a short nap before venturing out to the cobblestoned streets where we tasted some czech food and enjoyed some cool temperatures and a little drizzle.  We had a short meeting with our tour guides tonight before stopping at a bakery for macroons and other baked goods.  We are all hoping for a very good nights rest.  I feel like I've worked 2 night shifts in a row without any sleep.  I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings...we are 8 hours ahead of Idaho.  Seems so weird, especially when I just facetimed Mr. J as he was eating his breakfast.

Memorial Day Weekend!

I couldn't have asked for a better Memorial Day Weekend.  Every precious minute of it was spent with Mr. J.  Friday evening we had a date after work.  It was so much fun.  We went to reverse Happy Hour at a Sushi Bar.  I loved it; the sushi, the company and the bar that opened up out side.  It was a fun evening just me and Mr. J!

Saturday we got up early, I took back The Hampster...Kia Soul that I'd been renting for the past 4 months.  Not really sad to see him go; kind of a gay looking car, but fun to drive nonetheless.  Mr. J and I picked up the kids at 1130, ate lunch and then met my cousins at a super fun water park that only cost 2 bucks.  Since we were in Gilbert we had to get a snow cone from Kia Lani's.  So super delicious!  We fixed dinner, watched Cinderella and went to bed later than we should have!

Sunday Tanner joined us for church, we picked some grapefruit, posed on Aunt Leslies awesome bike, visited with Aunt Leslie, made a fruit pizza, enjoyed each others company and then Tanner went home and I said goodbye to the kids for 2 months.  Then it was just me and Mr. J...sigh!

Yesterday morning Mr. J and I went on a hike, I packed off and on throughout the day until Mr. J had to come in and assist me in my efforts so I could get it done before dawn, we had dinner with cousins and did some swimming. Have I ever mentioned how funny Mr. J is?  He makes me laugh several times a day.  You can tell just by looking at the pictures below...Mr. J and I spent a few alone hours before we attempted to go to sleep, meaning I don't think either one of use were able to turn our minds off.

Mr. J picked me up early this morning, took me to the airport so I could fly to SLC and we said goodbye for 2 months.  I'm sure going to miss that handsome man's touch, kisses, hugs and just being by my side all the time.

Today I met up with my friend Shelly McConkie since she is now living in SLC.  Man I love that girl.  So grateful we are friends!  We had a lovely chat while the kids ran in the sprinklers.

Tomorrow we leave for Europe for 12 days!  I can't wait!  Stay tuned for updates!

Last Phoenix FF

1.  Friday I got an email letting me know that my ACLS and PALS (advance life support) certifications were over due, which I totally knew but didn't want to admit it.  Luckily I found a class Saturday and yesterday.  The instructors were fantastic and thankfully I passed; 100% on my PALS too!  I'm done for 2 more years and feel that I could totally run a code, if I need to which I hope I never have to.
2.  Saturday evening I had dinner with my friend Beth at St. Francis.  Her company was fantastic and so was dinner.
3.  Sunday I had dinner with my childhood friend Kimmie and her family.  It was so good to see her.  She made a delicious salad that I had to copy for last nights dinner.  The salad is from redheadedhostess.com and the dressing is amazing!

4.  This past week Raspberries were on sale for 87 cents and blueberries a pint for $1.77.  I love both of these so much.  Talk about the best 87 cents!  I bought and ate 8 things of raspberries this week and Mr. J bought 8 and I have a rain check for 4 more.  I have to take advantage of this given I'm sure they will be 5x's as much in MVY this summer.

5.  Mr. J came home from being out of town for 4 days.  I missed seeing him every day. This week I've treasured every minute with this amazing man.  I'm going to miss him so much when I leave here on Tuesday.